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OFWs warned vs recruiter

 General
Jun 212013
 
OFWs warned vs recruiter

By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:51 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Hong Kong. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has warned Filipino workers in Hong Kong against dealing with a recruitment agency offering jobs in Canada. POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the Canada jobs offered by Yamsuan and Associates Overseas Employment Services Ltd./Pacific Management Services Ltd. are nonexistent. He advised applicants to be more vigilant and discerning in dealing with recruitment firms. “Scammers with tempting job offers are out there, waiting to pound on unsuspecting applicants who are willing to part with their hard-earned money for a chance to work overseas,” Cacdac said. Citing a report from the Department of Foreign Affair’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA), Cacdac said Yamsuan and Associates has been posting ads in English newspapers in Hong Kong targeting household service workers for supposed jobs in Canada. “The advertisement says the agency can help them find work in Canada and invites them to an orientation in its office,” the OUMWA said. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Canada , Hong Kong , Illegal recruitment , Leo Cacdac , Philippine Overseas Employment Administration , POEA Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this Read More …

USS Guardian grounding blamed on officers, gear

 News
Jun 212013
 
USS Guardian grounding blamed on officers, gear

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:31 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 In a photo released by the U.S. Navy, the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian sits aground in this Jan. 22, 2013 file photo on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Lack of leadership and faulty navigational equipment led to the grounding of the former USS Guardian on the Tubbataha Reef last January, which could have been prevented, according to the official report of the United States Navy. “The USS Guardian leadership and watch teams failed to adhere to prudent, safe, and sound navigation principles which would have alerted them to approaching dangers with sufficient time to take mitigating action,” concluded  Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, in the 160-page document. “The watch team’s observations of visual cues in the hours leading up to the grounding, combined with electronic cues and alarms, should have triggered immediate steps to resolve warnings and reconcile discrepancies,” Haney said. The US Pacific Fleet Public Affairs Office on Friday released a press statement summarizing the US Navy’s report on the results of its investigation into the minesweeper’s grounding on Tubbataha Reef. A link to the summary version of the report was also available online. Haney described as a “tragic mishap” the Jan. 17 grounding of the US vessel in the World Heritage Site, which destroyed more than 2,000 square meters of prized corals that would take years to rehabilitate.   Preventable mishap “This Read More …

$10M worth of smuggled elephant tusks destroyed

 News
Jun 212013
 
$10M worth of smuggled elephant tusks destroyed

By DJ YapPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:47 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 CRUSHED At least 5 tons of smuggled elephant tusks worth an estimated $10 million are destroyed by a road roller in support of a global effort to stop the illegal ivory trade. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ MANILA, Philippines—Environment officials on Friday led the crushing of some five tons of smuggled elephant tusks worth an estimated $10 million in a symbolic move to show the seriousness of the Philippine campaign to stop the “blood ivory” trade. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday destroyed the confiscated ivory using a road roller at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City. The shattered parts were to be incinerated at a government animal crematorium, officials said. The destruction of the stockpile would also eliminate any opportunity for corrupt officials to resell the ivory. “This act is a strong statement to the rest of the world that the Philippines is serious and will not tolerate illegal wildlife trade,” Environment Secretary Ramon Paje told a crowd of foreign dignitaries, wildlife campaigners and local and international media. Ivory can fetch from $1,000 to $2,000 per kilogram on the black market and more than $50,000 for an entire tusk, according to reports. Bonaventure Ebayi, chair of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, an intergovernmental body on illegal wildlife trade based in Nairobi, Kenya, said the Philippine government’s action was a model that ought to be replicated in other parts of Asia. The US Read More …

Gov’t-MILF talks to resume in July

 News
Jun 212013
 
Gov’t-MILF talks to resume in July

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:37 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 President Benigno Aquino III gives a miniature figurine to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim before the historic signing of the framework agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF at the Malacanang Presidential Palace last Oct. 15. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Formal talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur will resume in July, government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in a statement released by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Friday. “The panel chairs have already agreed on a date early next month to further discuss the annexes on wealth sharing, power sharing and normalization,” Ferrer said. Amid reports of a “stalemate” in talks to solve the 40-year rebellion in Mindanao, Ferrer met informally with MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal in Oslo where they both attended the Oslo Forum 2013. The event was organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue last June 18 and 19. Ferrer said she had given Iqbal the government’s full proposals on the wealth sharing annex “for the MILF to study and consider.” The wealth sharing annex has been a controversial issue of late between the government and the MILF, with the latter protesting a  “review” conducted by the Aquino administration on the document even after the two panels’ working committees affixed their signatures on it. The MILF considers Read More …

PH labor exec recalled from Saudi for sex probe

 News
Jun 212013
 
PH labor exec recalled from Saudi for sex probe

By Tina G. SantosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:33 am | Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 Labor officers in Saudi Arabia will be included in the investigation being conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the alleged sexual exploitation of distressed Filipino workers in the Middle East, Assistant Labor Secretary Rebecca Chato said. Aside from Kuwait and Jordan, the DOLE fact-finding body will now include Saudi Arabia, particularly Riyadh, in its investigation, following accusations from an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) that a labor officer in Saudi had asked her to sleep with him in his home instead of in a temporary shelter when she sought help from Philippine authorities there. The OFW, identified only as a certain “Michelle,” said that she was also offered to an Egyptian client, but that the man took pity on her instead and bought her a plane ticket to Manila. “Michelle” went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) office on Friday to seek assistance, Owwa head Carmelita Dimzon said, and was referred to the investigative panel. But the labor department has yet to get her official statement, she added. Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello this week accused at least three officials in Philippine labor offices and embassies in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria of soliciting sexual favors from distressed OFWs staying in shelters and awaiting repatriation to Manila. ‘Black propaganda’ Labor officer Mario Antonio, whom Bello had named as among the three erring officials, came out to deny the allegations and blamed illegal recruiters and Read More …

Another foreign vessel runs aground in coral reef

 News
Jun 142013
 
Another foreign vessel runs aground in coral reef

By Joey GabietaInquirer Visayas 3:27 am | Saturday, June 15th, 2013 TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—A foreign commercial vessel loaded with more than 1,600 pieces of lumber ran aground off Maripipi Island in Biliran province on Thursday night. The Japan-bound MV Unicorn Logger, with a crew of 18 headed by Capt. Nguyen Anh Tuan, ran aground on Sambawan Islet at around 7:10 p.m., Maripipi town local government operations head Ritchie Peñaflor said in a phone interview. The 5,691-ton Panama-registered vessel was loaded with 1,607 pieces of lumber  weighing 836.06 metric tons, Peñaflor said. He identified the vessel’s operator as Wisdom Marine Lines, based in Panama. The vessel departed from Sandakan, Malaysia, on June 11 around 9 a.m. and was sailing to Japan when it ran aground on Sambawan islet off the island town of Maripipi.   Reef damage The vessel hit about 270 square meters of coral reef, Peñaflor said. “This is now our concern. The incident has resulted in the destruction of our coral reefs covering 270 square meters, according to the initial assessment of our local fishery and agriculture office,” he said. The fishery office was also looking for possible oil leaks but so far had found none, he said. Peñaflor said the Maripipi municipal government was studying the possibility of seeking damages for the destruction of coral reefs from the owner of the commercial vessel. The site of the incident is about 50 to 60 meters away from a beach resort maintained by the municipal government, he said. Maripipi Read More …

Global protest set at UN against China ‘expansionism’

 News
Jun 142013
 
Global protest set at UN against China ‘expansionism’

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 2:01 am | Saturday, June 15th, 2013 NEW YORK–A U.S. group critical of China’s claim on islands off the Philippines will hold a protest rally at the United Nations headquarters here on July 24. The U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG) is denouncing China’s latest “incursion” in Ayungin Reef, located just 105 nautical miles from Palawan. Rep. Walden Bello of the Akbayan partylist announced that his group is joining the July 24 mass action in the Philippines and will encourage its supporters throughout the world to join in global actions to denounce China’s provocative actions in the Ayungin Reef. “China seized the Philippines’ Mischief Reef in 1994, then our Scarborough Shoal last year,” stated Loida Nicolas Lewis, the national chair of USP4GG and former national chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). “This year, China is set to invade and occupy the Ayungin Reef. We refuse to accept China’s expansionist agenda.” Sansha anniversary Lewis explained that July 24 marks the first anniversary of China’s establishment of the Sansha City Prefecture, which Beijing mandated to have jurisdiction over more than two million square kilometers of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), including islands and reefs in the Spratlys that are within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) protested the creation of the Sansha Prefecture, after learning that its jurisdiction covered the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys, which “is an integral part of the Philippine Read More …

UN: World population to hit 8.1B in 2025

 News
Jun 142013
 
UN: World population to hit 8.1B in 2025

Associated Press 1:07 am | Saturday, June 15th, 2013 POPULATION GROWTH Babies at the neonatal intensive care unit of East Avenue Medical Center. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ UNITED NATIONS—The United Nations has forecast that the world’s population will increase from 7.2 billion today to 8.1 billion in 2025 and 9.6 billion in 2050, with most growth in developing countries and more than half in Africa. The report said much of the overall increase between now and 2050 is expected to take place in Africa and countries with large populations such as India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States. (As of the May 2010 census, the Philippines’ population stood at 92,337,852. The Commission on Population projected the country’s population as of June 14, 2013 at 97,898,948, based on the 1.98 population percent change.) The UN report, “World Population Prospects,” released on Thursday, said most of the population growth will occur in developing regions which are projected to increase from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050. During that same period, it said, the population of developed countries is expected to remain largely unchanged at around 1.3 billion people. India to surpass China India’s population is expected to surpass China’s around 2028 when both countries will have populations of around 1.45 billion, according to the report. While India’s population is forecast to grow to around 1.6 billion and then slowly decline to 1.5 billion in 2100, China’s is expected to start decreasing after 2030, possibly falling to 1.1 billion in Read More …

US immigration office halts Filipina’s deportation after public outcry

 News
Jun 122013
 
US immigration office halts Filipina’s deportation after public outcry

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 9:13 am | Thursday, June 13th, 2013 Karla Gaerlan, baby Christopher, U.S. Army Specialist Thad Schmierer. Photo by rciriacruz U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cancelled the deportation order for Karla Gaerlan, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines, following hundreds of emails and phone calls from community members and a protest/press conference this morning. ICE had scheduled Karla’s deportation this Sunday – Father’s Day. Thad Schmierer, Karla’s husband, is a member of the U.S. Army.  Karla and Thad have a nine-month-old baby boy. Also, earlier today, eight members of the House of Representatives joined immigrant rights organizations calling for a halt to deportations while immigration reform moves through Congress. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: ICE , Immigration , immigration reform , Secure Communities , voluntary departure process Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:

Austrian UN troops begin pullout from Golan

 News
Jun 122013
 
Austrian UN troops begin pullout from Golan

Agence France-Presse 7:43 am | Thursday, June 13th, 2013 Loading the player… Austrian troops in the UN monitoring force on the Golan Heights begin withdrawing on Wednesday, days after Vienna decided to quit the mission over security concerns. AFP QUNEITRA CROSSING—A first group of 67 Austrian troops in the UN force monitoring the Golan ceasefire line between Syria and Israel withdrew Wednesday, days after Vienna decided to quit the mission over security concerns. Uniformed soldiers in jeeps and accompanied by armored vehicles entered the Israeli-occupied zone through the Quneitra crossing, the only passage between the two countries. “It had been scheduled in advance that we would perform a rotation, and it had been scheduled for today,” Austrian officer Erwin Klem told an AFP correspondent as he and his men crossed. The troops, the first wave of the 378-strong Austrian contingent which is due to be pulled out in stages, then transferred to a fleet of white UN buses for the drive to Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv. They arrived in the evening at Schwechat airport, near Vienna, where they were greeted by Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Defense Minister Gerald Klug. Austria announced on June 6, after fighting at Quneitra between Syrian government forces and rebels, that it would withdraw its peacekeepers because of deteriorating security. Klug said the pullout would take two to four weeks. Austria has been a cornerstone of UNDOF, the UN force monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel, since the force was set up Read More …

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